Combined shoe shank and ventilator.



J. BALL. COMBINED SHOE SEANK AND'VENTILATOB..

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1906.

Patented Oct. 5, 1909'.

Ziglar glial 'iiiirthe county of Cook instep which will at the same time JAMESABALL, GF CHICAGO, IILINOIS.

COMBINED SHOE SHANK' ND VENTILATR.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentetfct. 5, 1969.

.application led Novemberi, 1906-. Serial No; 343,663.

To all whom it mayconcem':

lBe it known that I, JAMES BALL, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, and State oflllinois, have invented certain new and useful 1mprovenrents in Combined vShoe Shanks and Ventilators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

It is well known tlfat when the ligaments and supports of the instep are naturally Weak, they easily give way, and in the instance of a person who is compelled to stand upon the feet for any length of time has a tendency to, and does make, the person what is termed flat footed.

To overco'ine this diiculty and to provide an improved light and non-yielding support for the arch of the foot and/the serve to ventilate the Vshoe is the primary object of this invention.

A further object is to provide an improved device of this character which may be readily inserted into the shoe while the same is being manufactured, and which may be readily closed to prevent the entrance of moisture in Wet Weather.

A further object is to provide an improved device of this character wliich'will be simple, light and strong in construction, cheap to manufacture, and efficient in operation.

To he attainment of .these endsand the accomplishment of other new and useful objects, as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangeinen of the several claimed, and shown in the [accompanying drawing illustrating' the exemplitication of the inventioinand in which,- Y

Figure l is a sectional view of a portion of a shoe with this improvement applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplification of this improved shank and ventilator; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of one manner of construct-ing the end of this improved shank and ventilator; Fig. 4 Iis adetail view, partly in' section, of one form of closure for the exposed open end;

,-Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a modified4 form of closure; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the valve shown in Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7 -7 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view online 48 .8 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, and in which the same reference numerals designate similar .parts throughout the several views, the

numeral 10 designates generally a continuous strip of suitable non-yielding material, suchas metal or the like, bent or formed into a trough shape or channeled member, the top edges of the sides of which are substantially iushwith each other. One extremity 11 of the member is preferably iatteiied to forni a bioad'end, and the other end is preferably contracted and shaped into a tubular portion l2, of some length, which forms shoulders 13. 'This tubular portion commit nicates with and forms a continuation of the trough or channel. The body portion v10 is preferably arched or bowed upwardly, as at 14, between the shoulders 13, and the @flattened portion 11 to conform to the arch of the foot.V

1n practice, this improved shank and ventilator is placed against the under face 'of thein-sole 15 iny such a manner that the in- :sole will form a closure for the trough or Echannel, andwith the extremity of the tubular portion substantially flush with the rear end of the iii-sole. The flattened end 11 -inaiy be secured to the in-sole in any desired manner, preferably by embedding` the saine in the in-soie, as shown at 16. A suitable .filler; 17 is provided to build up the lower A'face of the inssole level with the bottom of the member 10, after which the sole 1S and shank and heel may -be placed on in the usual manner, as more clearly shown in iFig.. 8. parts hereinafter more fully described and Thein-so'le 15 is provided with a plurality of apertures 1K9 passing therethrough directly over and communicating with the trough or channel sin theimeniber 10. This member 10 is preferablyof such a length as 'to terminate ,short of the ball of the foot, so

as not to interfere with Walking, but is nonyielding and strong, and serves as a support for the arch of the foot. rflic suction caused lby walking or the movement of the foot in the shoe, will draw air in through the open end of the tubular portion' 1,2, which .has communication with the outside air, and into 1 the trough or channel, discharging the same through the apertures 19 into the shoe.

If desired, a ferrule or collar 20 may be l inserted into the free end of tubular portion 12, (as shown inFig. 3) so that .the flange 21' may rest against the edge of said portion.

This collar or ferrule may be held in position in any suitable manner, such as by Ifriction, and serves to protect the exposed end and give it a more finished appearance.

A suitable closure may be providedv for the end of the tube to prevent the entrance of moisture if desired. A simple and efficient closure is shown in Fig. 4, and comprises a headed screw 22 which may be inserted into the end of the' tubular portion, so that the threads thereon will engage similar threads 23 therein, and with the head engaging the extremity of said portion. A modified form of closure is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and in this exemplification the tubular portion 12 is preferably smooth on the interior, and is provided with an elongated aperture or slot 24 passing through the wall thereof. A valve 25 is rotatively mounted in said portion and isheld from displacement preferably by means of friction. This valve comprises a tubular body portion, the end 26 of which is closed, and a peripheral projecting flange er head 27 is arranged at the other end which is adapted to rest against the end of the tubular portion l2 when the valve'is in position. The body portion 25 is preferably provided with a slot or aperture 28 intermediate its ends, and passing through the wall thereof, and is adapted to register with the slot or aperture 24 to permit the air which enters the end of the valve to be discharged through the registering apertures and into the shoe. When it is d esired to shut oft1 the supply of air, the valve may be rotated to move the slots or apertures out of register.

Any suitable means may be provided for rotating the valve, such as a transverse slot 2f) in the head thereof, into which a tool or instrument may be inserted for this purpose. A shank and ventilator of this improved construction is not only light and strong, but is entirely concealed and serves as a support for the arch of the-foot and the instep, and will support the in-sole and prevent it from being broken down, at the same time the shank and ventilator will not be crushed or mashed but will retain its proper shape,

, diie to the fact` that the pressure-is exerted directly upon the tops of the walls of the groove or channel.

In order that the invention might be fully understood, the details of an embodiment thereof have been thus specifically described, but

What I claim is-- l l. A combined shoe shank and ventilator comprising a longitudinally arched body portion of channel formation, the sides of one end of the body being drawn together to form a tubular extremity communicating with the channel, said shank being adapted to be inserted between the insole and shank and heel of a shoe, the insole resting upon the' edges of the channel, and the tubular end having communication .with the outside air. f

2. A Vcombined shoe shank and ventilator comprising a longitudinally arched body portion of channel formation, the sides of one end of the body being drawn together to form a tubular extremity communicating with the channel, said sl'iank being adapted to 'be inserted between the insole and shank and heel of a shoe, the insole'resting upon the edges of the channel'and being provided with perforations communicating therewith, and the tubular end having communication with the outside air. n i

3. A combined shoe shank and ventilator comprising a longitudinally arfhed body portion of channel formation, the sides of one end of the body being drawn together to form a tubular extremity communicating with the channel, said shank being adapted to be inserted between the insole and shank and heel of a shoe, the insole resting upon the edges of the channel, the tubular end having communication with the outside air, the other end of the shank being flattened and resting against the insole.

4. A combined. shoe shank and ventilator comprising a longitudinally arched body portionv of channel formation, the sides of one end of the body being drawn together to form a tubular extremity communicating with the channel, said shank being adapted to be inserted between the insole and shank and heely of a Shoe, the insole resting upon the edges of the channel, the channel having communication withthe inside of the shoe and the tubular portion having communication with the outside air, and a closure for the tubular end.

5. A combined shoe shank and ventilator comprising a longitudinally arched body portion of channel formation, the sides of one end of the body being drawn together to form a tubular extremity communicating with the channel, said shank being adapted to be inserted between the insole and shank and heel of a shoe, the insole rest-ing upon the edges of the channel, the channel having communication with .the inside of the shoe and the tubular portion opening to the outside air, and means for varying the size of the opening.

6. A combined shoe shank and ventilator adapted to be inserted between the insole and shank and heel of the shoe, comprising a longitudinally arched substantially U- shaped body portion, the sides of one end being drawn together to form a tubular ex- 7. A combined adapted to beinserted between the insolel end hving communication with vand shank and heel a longitudinally and shank andv heelA of the a. longitudinilly arched shaped body portion, y being drawn together to form a tubular eX- tremity, the insole being perforated and resting upon the sides ofthe body, the tubular the outside air, the-other end 'of the shank being flattened and' embedded in' the insole to form a closure for said end, and 'e closure for the tubular end.v Y, 8.- A combined shoe shank and ventilator adapted4 to be `inserted bet-,Ween `the insole of the shoe coin'prisin shoe comprising substantially U-A the sides vot one end arched substantially U-f :..shaped body portion, the sides ofone end nir, the other end of the shank being Hatf- I closure for said end, and

being drawn together to form a tubular eX- trelnity, the insole being perforated and restlngupon vthe sides o f the body, the tubular end having communication with the outside tened sind embedded in the insole to form a tubular end for varying the size of the openingjof the tubular portion.

shoe shank-und ventilator fact-ure, a shoe end,- the sides of g together or shaped into in integralv tubular a fvalve in the 9. As a new and useful article of manushank comprising a. substantially 'U-shap'ed and non-yielding. imperforate body portion having a flattened mid e tubular end.

' l0. As :i newv Aand useful article of manufacture,a shoe sha-nk comprising an srched and' non-yielding substantially U- shaped imperforate body portion and a tubular` en/d.

11. As av ne\v and useful article of menufaeture, e shoe shank comprising an arched and substantially U-shaped non-yieldingV imperforate body port-ion having :i flattened the other end beingdrawn extremity which shaped portion. In testimony communicates Withthe U- whereof` I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, on this 14th day of November A. D ll906.

Witnesses E. CoMP'roinf J. HJJOCHUM, Jr.

having si zittened JAMES BALL. 

